Ghazaros (Lazarus) Aghayan ( hy, Ղազարոս Աղայեան; ) was an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

writer, educator,

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

, historian,

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and

public figure A public figure is a person who has achieved notoriety, prominence or fame within a society, whether through achievement, luck, action, or in some cases through no purposeful action of their own, In the context of defamation actions (libel and ...

Biography

Aghayan was born in

Bolnisi Bolnisi ( ka, ბოლნისი, az, Qəmərli), is a city in the country of Georgia, located in the Kvemo Kartli region and capital of the Bolnisi district. It currently has an estimated 13,800 inhabitants. History Bolnisi was settled ...

village (also known as Bolnis-Khachen),

Tiflis Governorate The Tiflis Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire with its administrative center in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). In 1897, it constituted 44,607 sq. kilometres in area and had a population ...

(now

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

). He received his early education in Bolnisi, and at the age of thirteen he entered to the

Nersisyan School Nersisian School ( hy, Ներսիսեան դպրոց, ''Nersisian Dprots''; ka, ნერსისიანის სემინარია, ; russian: Нерсесяновское училище, translit=Nersisyanovskoye učilišče) was an A ...

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

. He left the school after one year because of his family's financial problems. Aghayan traveled between

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, and

Saint-Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In Moscow he cooperated with ''Hyusisapayl'' journal of

Stepanos Nazarian Stepanos Nazarian (, , , in Tiflis – , in Moscow) was an Armenian-Russian publisher, enlightener, historian of literature and orientalist. Biography He was born in the family of a priest. Graduated from the department of philosophy in the U ...

, also worked as typesetter. Throughout his life he pursued many careers and professions. He was a

hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

, a factory worker and a farm labourer before he joined fellow writer

Mikael Nalbandian Mikayel Nalbandian ( hy, Միքայել Նալբանդյան; ) was a Russian-Armenian writer, poet, political theorist and activist. Nalbandian was born in Nakhichevan-on-Don, an Armenian town in southern Russia, and traveled extensively, al ...

in the

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n cultural and

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

revival of the 19th century. In 1867 he returned to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

, worked as the manager of Etchmiadzin publishing house, and as an editor of “Ararat” monthly (1869-1870) of the

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin ( hy, Մայր Աթոռ Սուրբ Էջմիածին, translit=Mayr At’oř Surb Ēĵmiatsin), known in Armenian as simply the Mother See (Մայր Աթոռ, ''Mayr At’oř''), is the governing body of the Armen ...

. In 1870 he returned to Tiflis and dedicated himself to teaching. He taught in Akhaltskha,

Alexandropol Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

and

Shushi / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govhar ...

, and supervised Armenian parochial schools of Georgia. As a teacher he supported the democratization of education. Aghayan demanded clearing schools from the influence of clergy. He is an author of textbooks for Armenian schools and works on education. He also collaborated on "Aghbyur", an illustrated monthly for children. In 1895 he was arrested on charges of belonging to the

Hnchak The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP) ( hy, Սոցիալ Դեմոկրատ Հնչակյան Կուսակցություն; ՍԴՀԿ, translit=Sots’ial Demokrat Hnch’akyan Kusakts’ut’yun), is the oldest continuously-operating Armenian ...

Party, exiled to Nor-Nakhichevan and then Crimea (1898-1900). He was then under the control of the tsarist gendarmerie until the end of his life. In May 1902, celebrated the 40th anniversary of his literary activity. In 1905 he took part in the October rally in Tiflis, calling for the tsar to be overthrown. He obtained great popularity in the sphere of children’s literature. Aghayan has translated works of

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

and

Ivan Krylov Ivan Andreyevich Krylov (russian: Ива́н Андре́евич Крыло́в; 13 February 1769 – 21 November 1844) is Russia's best-known fabulist and probably the most epigrammatic of all Russian authors. Formerly a dramatist and journalis ...

. He died in

at the age of 71. He was maternal grandfather of Lazar Sarian and Anatoliy Eiramdzhan and father-in-law of the painter

Martiros Saryan Martiros Saryan ( hy, Մարտիրոս Սարյան; russian: Мартиро́с Сарья́н; – 5 May 1972) was a Soviet Armenian painter, the founder of a modern Armenian national school of painting. Biography He was born into an Armenia ...

Works

*1867 -
Arutiun and Manvel
" (autobiographical novel) *1872 - "Two sisters " (

social novel The social novel, also known as the social problem (or social protest) novel, is a "work of fiction in which a prevailing social problem, such as gender, race, or class prejudice, is dramatized through its effect on the characters of a novel". Mor ...

) *1888 - "Tork Angegh" (poems) *1893 - "The Main Events of My Life " (memoirs) *1881 - "Anahit" (tale) *1887 - "Aregnazan" (fairy tale) *1904 - "The Fairy Tales of Grandmother Gulnaz" *1908 - "Arevik" (educational book) The tombstone of Ghazaros Aghayan in Khojivank

The tombstone of Ghazaros Aghayan in Khojivank

Bibliography

*''Collection of Works in 4 Volumes'', Ed. and commented by A. Asatryan and others, Yerevan, 1962–1963Aghayan at T. Hayrapetyan Library
/ref> *''Aghayan in Memoirs of Contemporaries'', Yerevan, 1967. 529 pages. *''Tork Angegh'', by Ghazaros Aghayan, trans. by Agop J. Hacikyan, 80 pages,

Gomidas Institute The Gomidas Institute (GI; hy, ԿԻ) is an independent academic institution "dedicated to modern Armenian and regional studies." Its activities include research, publications and educational programmes. It publishes documents, monographs, memoir ...

References

External links

Biography

«Քառասուն տարի» Հ․ Թումանյան

«Ղ. Աղայանց (Քառասունամյակի օրը)» Հ․ Թումանյան

«Տխուր հիշողություն (Ղազարի մահվան տարեդարձին)» Հ․ Թումանյան
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aghayan, Ghazaros 1840 births 1911 deaths Armenian people from the Russian Empire 19th-century Armenian writers Writers from the Russian Empire Burials at Armenian Pantheon of Tbilisi